Unnai Pol Oruvan - A pale imitation
When I heard the news that Kamal is going to remake 'A Wednesday', let me just say that I wasn't too thrilled. I mean, the biggest plus of the Hindi original was the way Naseeruddin Shah's character was shaped & portrayed, as a common man who was just taking out his frustrations on the inaction & indifferent attitude of the government to the specter of terrorist attacks unleashed on his city by terrorists. My biggest concern was this: even given how good an actor Kamal is, he can never be the 'common man' that was so central to the plot of the movie. And the moment I saw him mouth his heavily accented English dialogs in the trailer, I could see my fears coming true. And now after watching the entire movie, surprise, the movie just goes on to prove that my original fears were fully warranted.
I mean, I don't know. May be, I have the advantage of comparing his performance against Naseeruddin Shah's in the original but his heavily accented English & his frequent use of English dialogs only alienated me from the narrative. It's not like he always talks like this. In interviews that he gives to TV channels, his English comes across as more original. But when he starts talking in a movie, that fake desi accent comes into the picture and that irritates the hell out of me. And when it happens to be in a movie like this, it sticks out like a sore thumb even more.
Then in the most crucial scene of the movie a.k.a. the outburst/ justification scene, Kamal HAD to have that scene which was not there in the original, where there is a 60 second sequence of Kamal narrating a gory incident and more importantly, taking that as an opportunity to tell us one more time that 'Look, I can act great'. Well, we do know that you can act (and quite awesome at that) but was it really necessary in this movie? I didn't think so. It is in subtle things like this that UPO loses out to its original, to whom it stayed quite faithful other than these minor wanderings. Same can be said about Kamal's performance too - a rare occasion the actor in Kamal loses out to another great actor.
If you ask me to name 6 differences between the 2 movies, let me give you a couple that should tell you why I felt that the subtlety of the original was lost in this one. The scene in question is this one where Ganesh Venkatraman goes to the house of the informant to beat the constable who was sent for his family's protection but was flirting with the informant's sister. This (YouTube link) is how the scene plays out in the original whereas in UPO, the director HAD to show the sister coming out with a cup of coffee and the constable flirting with her, before Ganesh Venkatraman takes out his rage on the constable.
The second instance is almost similar to this one. This got to do with where Naseeruddin Shah places the bag with the bombs in the original (he places it in a crowded train terminal) whereas this one Kamal places in the same compartment where the wife of the police officer is traveling (& right next to her seat, at that). And just in case we missed it, they make sure to show the bag with the bomb one more time, sitting right above the seat where police officer's wife & kid are sitting
Some of the other issues/ grouses I had with this one:
- I am no big fan of Vijay but did they have to take that potshot at Vijay through that Sreeman character?
- Having someone to mimic Karunanidhi. Again, not a big fan of MK, but did they have to do that?
- Lakshmi. Enuf said.
- What was that all about showing the TV reporter smoking & Mohan Lal's not so subtle poke at the same?
- Mohan Lal's Hindi & Tamil accents, which just didn't sit easy on my ears. I mean, I am big lover of the Tamil accent of Malayalam actors but this one was a tough pill to swallow.
One might ask 'Aren't there anything noteworthy in this movie?' Yes, there definitely are some. Shruthi's BGM was a surprise, as in, she does so much better than expected for a debutant. It fit the mood of the movie, except for the scene where the twist happens. The dry humor in Era Murugan's dialogs were good, but some of them were lost in the confrontational scenes between Mohan Lal & Lakshmi, due to Mohan Lal's horrible Tamil & English accent.
Bottom line - If you have watched the Hindi original and if you are not a fan of Kamal, this is one below-par effort of remaking.
I mean, I don't know. May be, I have the advantage of comparing his performance against Naseeruddin Shah's in the original but his heavily accented English & his frequent use of English dialogs only alienated me from the narrative. It's not like he always talks like this. In interviews that he gives to TV channels, his English comes across as more original. But when he starts talking in a movie, that fake desi accent comes into the picture and that irritates the hell out of me. And when it happens to be in a movie like this, it sticks out like a sore thumb even more.
Then in the most crucial scene of the movie a.k.a. the outburst/ justification scene, Kamal HAD to have that scene which was not there in the original, where there is a 60 second sequence of Kamal narrating a gory incident and more importantly, taking that as an opportunity to tell us one more time that 'Look, I can act great'. Well, we do know that you can act (and quite awesome at that) but was it really necessary in this movie? I didn't think so. It is in subtle things like this that UPO loses out to its original, to whom it stayed quite faithful other than these minor wanderings. Same can be said about Kamal's performance too - a rare occasion the actor in Kamal loses out to another great actor.
If you ask me to name 6 differences between the 2 movies, let me give you a couple that should tell you why I felt that the subtlety of the original was lost in this one. The scene in question is this one where Ganesh Venkatraman goes to the house of the informant to beat the constable who was sent for his family's protection but was flirting with the informant's sister. This (YouTube link) is how the scene plays out in the original whereas in UPO, the director HAD to show the sister coming out with a cup of coffee and the constable flirting with her, before Ganesh Venkatraman takes out his rage on the constable.
The second instance is almost similar to this one. This got to do with where Naseeruddin Shah places the bag with the bombs in the original (he places it in a crowded train terminal) whereas this one Kamal places in the same compartment where the wife of the police officer is traveling (& right next to her seat, at that). And just in case we missed it, they make sure to show the bag with the bomb one more time, sitting right above the seat where police officer's wife & kid are sitting
Some of the other issues/ grouses I had with this one:
- I am no big fan of Vijay but did they have to take that potshot at Vijay through that Sreeman character?
- Having someone to mimic Karunanidhi. Again, not a big fan of MK, but did they have to do that?
- Lakshmi. Enuf said.
- What was that all about showing the TV reporter smoking & Mohan Lal's not so subtle poke at the same?
- Mohan Lal's Hindi & Tamil accents, which just didn't sit easy on my ears. I mean, I am big lover of the Tamil accent of Malayalam actors but this one was a tough pill to swallow.
One might ask 'Aren't there anything noteworthy in this movie?' Yes, there definitely are some. Shruthi's BGM was a surprise, as in, she does so much better than expected for a debutant. It fit the mood of the movie, except for the scene where the twist happens. The dry humor in Era Murugan's dialogs were good, but some of them were lost in the confrontational scenes between Mohan Lal & Lakshmi, due to Mohan Lal's horrible Tamil & English accent.
Bottom line - If you have watched the Hindi original and if you are not a fan of Kamal, this is one below-par effort of remaking.
Labels: Movie Reviews, Movies, Unnai Pol Oruvan
posted by Filbert at 2:10 PM
9 Comments:
Filby,i can certainly say u have seen the movie with pre-conceived notions.I do agree that Kamal dint even match Nasser's class,but the flaws u have mentioned all are of little worth which doesn't impact the movie.
1.Ganesh Venkatram Scene was portrayed in such a way so that everyone can understand the constable's harassment towards the informer's sister.Agreed it wasn't done neatly instead sounds cinematic.(Thats why in tamil it has shown he was flirting with the sister)
2.The reason to place the bag in the compartment instead of in the midst of the station is, of late its easy to get suspicious of any unnoticed thing and the people might call the police immediately thus to avoid this kinda situation kamal had the made the scene such a way.(Since u were in US i think neenga weren't aware of these things :-))
3.Coming to Mohanlal,he has shown as a cop came from kerala,so its no surprise he wud have a mallu influenced tamil.TO be honest i wud say this is the second best of Mohanlal in Tamil(after Iruvar)
4.Finally any remake cant surpass original.So it doesn't make any sense comparing scene by scene with original.jus see the movie with an open mind,IMO UPO is a decent remake.other then kamal no one could have done a neat job.
Mahesh,
Thanks for the longish comment :)
Did I watch the movie with an obvious bias? Yes, I did. The reason being that IMO a remake is supposed to iron out the minor flaws in the original and the fact that this one did not do it is the reason for my disappointment.
I understand your explanation to those 2 points but to me somehow, those 2 scenes just summed up the difference between the original and this remake.
About Mohan Lal - his performance as such was terrific and I also realize that he is shown as someone from Kerala. But its just that his Tamil & English accent were very uneasy on my ears :)
About the original always being better than the remake - I don't agree with that conclusion bcos remakes have the advantage of hindsight. The main reason why I had to compare it against the original was bcos you should see how Kamal fans always say Kurudhipunal is such a superior film than its original, Drohkaal!
Filbert,
It's not only Kamal fans who always say Kurudhipunal is superior than Drohkaal. In an interview that I watched, the director of Drohkaal himself mentioned that Kurudhipunal is better than his original. The director is not a xyz person, he's an established director and has directed good movies, if needed he could have not mentioned abt it but it sounded genuine :)
The main reason why I had to compare it against the original was bcos you should see how Kamal fans always say Kurudhipunal is such a superior film than its original, Drohkaal!
you are cent percent right..most of the Kamal fan(atics) are too aggressive and always love to abuse all other fans jus to show they are different from others and their better taste.they argue as if Tamil cinema wud become void if kamal isn't there.you know one thing, jus my profile picture has vijay, i was banned from Orkut's Kamal Comm.Poor Chaps.Way to go to get matured.enakku bayama irukku pora pokka paatha kamala pudikka poirumonnu kooda :-(
Telugu version of this film is flop. Even in reviews, the actions of Kamal's received negative reviews. For the subject taken, some of the sequences just didn't sit well.
I expected high praises by the Tamilians, especially Kamal fans. Depending on who is reviewing and the people that frequent those sites, the opinions have varied from better than original to below average.
I guess, disappointment(expected) would be the right verdict.
I watched the original. It is sad that starpower is needed to reach a greater box office hit. But the original worked wonders simply b/c it had an Anupam Kher and Nassarudeen Shah. Not that I thought it was entirely out of faults. Everybody wants to be the victim:-) Unfortunately, the victims(gone and potential) never have a say, even in films that are supposedly about that population.
I could watch the tamil film for Mohanlal. I for one don't mind accents as long as actors dub themselves and character is justified for the accent. Imagine one best actor in India facing another best actor in India. Too bad the Telugu version didn't click.
I still don't understand why people rip Kamal off for his fake English accent. When I see the difference in the accents of Bollywood stars in interviews versus films, I think they are just as bad, or worse. Besides, Kamal's accent is quite original. Comes right from the beginning, he has never altered that which he started in 80s:-)
-kajan
Anon,
I haven't watched Drohkal yet. So, not sure how good Kurudhipunal was better than the original. There are also neutral fans whose views I trust who have said that it The claim that KP is better than the original) is a humbug :)
Mahesh,
Another point I completely agree with. More than the actors, it is their fans who sometimes increase our hatred & ire towards the actors of whom they are fans of.
And before anyone jumps on me, this holds good for fans of almost every single actor as well :)
Kajan,
Again, I am not against the accents of Malayalam actors. It's just that Mohan Lal's both (Tamil & English) accents were hard on my ears.
And I have never been a fan of Kamal's accent. Like I have said before, there definitely is a difference between the way he speaks in interviews to English channels and the way he speaks in movies like UPO.
Picture this - on the one hand, you have a common man whose accent is like someone who has lived in the US for decades. On the other hand, you have an IPS officer whose English is hard to tolerate.
Whatever you people say. Finally the reviews say the movie is super hit performed well in box office. But the final result is not even single theater was not able to show 50 days. Only 28 days it ran in most theaters and after that only studio-5 (1 show) in entire tamil nadu. And people say this is a hit movie. Movie might be good performance wise but money wise the distributor has to tell whether he gained money or not. Till now no one has told about the collection of this movie except (media people). It has to be from distributor to tell that he got good money. :-(
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